World
Slovenian president raises Palestinian flag at palace after new PM removes it at parliament
Slovenia’s President Natasa Pirc Musar accused Israel of “genocide” against Palestinians and said she was raising the Palestinian flag at her palace after a newly appointed pro-Israel government took down the banner at the country’s parliament earlier last week.
“The genocide against Palestinians has not been brought to an end, and the people of Gaza and the West Bank are not living in peace and dignity. The Palestinian flag hoisted on the façade of the Presidential Palace, where it will remain for one week and thereafter be displayed within the Palace as a reminder to all who visit my office, carries an even broader significance,” she wrote on X on Friday.
“It stands as a symbol of grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, not only in Palestine but also elsewhere around the world. It is a simple call for respect for a fundamental principle of civilization: human dignity — for all,” she said.
The previous prime minister, Robert Golob, and his government had increasingly tense ties with Israel over its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel.
Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024 and became one of the few EU countries to claim Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to a “genocide,” a claim that Israel has strongly rejected.
Slovenia also became the first EU country to impose a travel ban on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last September.
The new prime minister, Janez Jansa, is known as an admirer of US President Donald Trump and a supporter of Israel. Shortly after Slovenia’s parliament approved the formation of his government last week, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel will, for the first time, open an embassy in the Central European country.
The genocide against Palestinians has not been brought to an end, and the people of Gaza and the West Bank are not living in peace and dignity. The Palestinian flag hoisted on the façade of the Presidential Palace, where it will remain for one week and thereafter be displayed…
— Nataša Pirc Musar (@nmusar) June 6, 2026
The president, Musar, who has served since 2022, is from a center-left party and is closer ideologically to Golob.
Since relations were established in 1992, Israel’s diplomatic affairs in Slovenia have been handled via the embassy in Vienna, which has served as a nonresident mission.
Jansa previously said that if he returns to power, he will relocate Slovenia’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and rescind Ljubljana’s recognition of Palestine.
